Contact centres are often one of the most used ways for organisations to stay in touch with clients. Traditional hardware-centric contact centres are typically limited in several ways, with costs and integration difficulties being just two.
By moving to a cloud-based contact centre environment, these restrictions can become a thing of the past, unlocking more cost effective and flexible options and integrations into multiple communication channels.
Looking specifically at the sales-based contact centre, leaders of these agents face many challenges in their day-to-day work lives, particularly when employees are using a more traditional phone system.
Pain points can include a lack of visibility around agent productivity, an unreliable phone system that has a negative effect on usage, difficulties in workload management, and regularly having to onboard and train new team members due to the high staff turnover typically experienced within this environment.
“Sales leaders already have their hands full with monitoring productivity and business targets, managing team operations, and onboarding new members. And for people in this type of position, a reliable business phone system isn’t just a requirement, it’s an absolute necessity,” explains Shawn Gradwell, Solutions Architect at eNetworks, a Datacentrix company.
“Implementing the right cloud-based phone system can be tremendously helpful for the sales leader.
Not only will this type of technology enable them to clear day-to-day obstacles and friction, but it will also allow them to focus on the critical task of converting sales.”
The benefits of cloud-based phone systems
Cloud-based phone systems – also known as productivity systems – can help to boost a sales team’s accountability by providing access to real-time statistics through live feeds, recorded calls, and analytics. These data-driven insights also allow these leaders to adapt business strategies based on identified trends.
In addition, the introduction of simple, automated processes will assist in eliminating time-consuming manual tasks, for a more efficient workflow.
“Cloud-based systems are extremely flexible in that features can be applied, adjusted, and configured with just a few clicks,” Gradwell continues. “For example, it is possible to set up your cloud-based system to ring on multiple devices at the same time, significantly reducing the number of missed calls your business receives. At the same time, software updates are as easy as a simple download and application refresh.
“Another major advantage if you’re doing business internationally is saving costs on long-distance calling charges on both incoming and outgoing calls, because most cloud-based packages include this feature with no additional charges. Additionally, local numbers can be purchased and created in almost every country and area code.”
According to Gradwell, the combination of a cloud-based phone system with existing business tools and integrated sales applications plays an important role in fine-tuning sales strategies, making them more efficient for getting prospects through the sales funnel faster.
A cloud-based phone system consolidates a business’s entire communications process as it can be integrated with:
· Email inbox
· Sales automation tools
· Web apps
· CRM systems
· Helpdesk software
· eCommerce platforms
· Online surveys
· Quality assurance tools
· Chat tools
Supporting the sales leader
Cloud-based phone systems offer additional features tailored for the sales leader specifically.
“Because the coaching of agents is another significant task on the sales leader’s task list, the ability for the sales leader to monitor live calls, as well as refer to call recordings, is important when it comes to helping agents to reach their full potential.
“Call whispering is an excellent feature that allows sales leaders to coach their call team members by using a ‘call whisper’ to guide them and provide verbal advice in their conversations with prospects or customers – without the customer being able to hear this information,” says Gradwell.
“This is valuable for sales and support teams as it supports the training of new agents. It offers a positive way for call agents to improve their communication skills, helps to improve customer service levels, and provides help to team members handling stressful situations or solving tough problems right on the spot,” he adds.
“Until relatively recently, the best strategy for sales calls amounted to little more than dialling as many numbers as possible and hoping the salesperson could deliver the right line at the right time to entice a quality prospect. Cloud-based telephony is a real game-changer for the sales lead, helping people in this type of position to stay on top of their team’s performance and evolve with the modern business.”
Datacentrix is a reseller partner for Aircall, the cloud-based call centre and phone system of choice for modern businesses.
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